Bliss & Liveliness

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Hello, friends. It's been months. When I stopped writing on this blog, I was in the middle of a troubled relationship and at the time, I felt like my world was tumbling down on me. What I didn't know was that that was probably one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. I felt so incredibly empty inside that it made me finally look within and it was only then when I saw just how hallow I was. Slowly, I began to work on myself everyday. I discovered new beliefs, philosophies, and new role models to look up to. Pieces began to fall into place and I found myself yearning to share it, but Bliss & Liveliness no longer resonated with the picture of my future. Like most humans out there who finally wake up, I needed to start over and build myself a new platform. Some turn to YouTube, some turn to Instagram, but I am turning right now to my new site...

I've been working on Isabel for the last couple months (all summer if I'm to count the thought process). Unlike my other blogs, it's not on Blogger (WHAT!?!?! I KNOW! SCARY STUFF!) and as of twenty minutes ago, I even bought my own domain with my name on it! I'm officially committed to this new adventure. No turning back and closing the door now. I've never done anything like this before and, girls, it's surreal. Of course, there's a part of me that worries that I'm going to ditch it like I do everything else but the point of this blog (what I tell myself) is to document my spiritual journey in overcoming these limitations that I put on myself. This is why Isabel is not just a website to me. It's so much more than that.

I'm sorry I kept it a secret for so long, but here she is! Here is Isabel.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

My new added goal to my...list of goals...is to not ditch my wellness routine over the weekend. It'd be so good for me to get in a quick workout and/or meditation session instead of tossing my agenda away until Monday...or in this week's case, Tuesday.

Friday:

Little bro took me to the backyard woods. It was completely flooded over and beautiful. We were soaked to the bone so we made hot chocolate and watched Finding Dory when we arrived home. My evening was spent eating at Hot Head Burritos with the best friend in celebration of Cinco De Mayo. We passed on the offers to go to the local bar and instead watched an old Disney movie on Netflix.

Saturday:

I took a bath after work because my family was gone. Watched The Legend of Tarzan, a magical experience.

Later that day, graduation party season has officially begun.

Sunday:

I went shopping with my friend and her sisters. Bought a skimpy shirt and strappy flats.

Monday:

All of my free time is being put into my must-be-done-by-graduation photo album. I should've started 50,000 years ago.

Tuesday:

??? What did I do yesterday...???

Day Eleven:

They were right, it gets easier. I missed him a lot on Saturday because he was at his sister's wedding and I knew he was, at that moment, looking snazzy in a black suit. That night, I left my phone on and by my bed in case he called me when he got home. I think a part of me did it out of habit but most of me was praying, begging, that he'd give in and talk to me. He didn't.

Today, I do miss him but I'm actually more thankful for him than ever. I'm so happy that he thought we should have this time away from each other because it's making me realize and accept so much. I realize that when I was with him, I halted so much of my personal growth because I was locked into this mindset that I had to prove myself to him. I'm also accepting (with a smile on my face) that yes, I...

a.) Do or did have feelings for him. I denied this to my best friend repeatedly from the day I first met Brown Eyes.

b.) Relationships freak me out.

c.) The feelings I had towards him turned me into a psycho.

As the audiobook I am listening to states, I am NOT these emotions on a soul level. I accept that they are there and that they make me feel this way, but they are not me spiritually.

I wanted to text him but I think I'll wait. Ha ha! I really want to see if he'll text me first. I've got a gut feeling that he's starting to miss me. ;)

Thursday, May 4, 2017

It's almost 11PM and my fingers are itching to pick up my copy of "The Shining", but I'm really just as excited about writing on here as I am curious about what will happen to Jack, Wendy, and Danny. The question is, what do I want to talk about?

Ohio is rainy. So rainy that this morning, my mom, little brother, and myself didn't manage to pull ourselves out of bed until past 9AM. We dragged our feet around for the rest of the day but I still managed to get in some exercise, green tea, and meditation. The jogging will have to wait though because oh, heck no am I going to get sick because I was running in the rain.

Almost every bone in my body wants to text him to remind him that I'm still here, in case he forgets. What's stopping me is that if I did connect with him, it'd be out of fear and nothing good would come out of it in that case. In the next chapter of "Mastering Your Mean Girl", Melissa says that you must always chose love over fear in every situation because only then will you be living from your heart/true self.

I have informed my close friends about Plan A: DISTRACTION! I even told my little brother, Johnny. We, of course, giggled over my entire over-dramatic situation and I, of course, pretended to collapse on to floor in wild frustration as I exited his room and caught the slightest whiff of Brown Eyes' intoxicating smell. It was my imagination that put it there. Of course. SOS?

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Around the end of last year, I bought the audio book "You are a Badass" by Jen Sincero (Fabulous read, highly recommend). I was able to receive the book for free thanks to a YouTuber's promo code for Audible. Silly me followed the instructions to receive my free book and didn't think twice about the Audible account I had just signed up for and created. A few months later, I checked my debit card statement to discover that OH MY GOSH! WHY HAS $15 BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM MY ACCOUNT EVERY MONTH!? I had forgotten to cancel my membership after my free month was up. I wasn't even shocked.
Nevertheless, I could have reacted with frustration and anger but instead I thought to myself, maybe something good will come out of this besides the obvious lesson of "Get your crap together and pay attention, Sarah!". Thanks to my payments, I had a handful of Audible credits and was able to come across my new little bible, "Mastering Your Mean Girl".

Today, I followed through with my daily goal and listened to the whole first chapter, writing plenty of notes of course. To whomever is reading, I 10/10 recommend this book if you're feeling stuck in life. How fun would it be if we made our ways through the book together?! If you need convincing, I noted something she states in the first chapter...

"You don't need to be trapped by that fear based mean girl voice inside your head, the one that constantly hisses that you're worthless and not good enough. You don't need to live your life always worrying what other people think of you and don't need to live your life constantly seeking permission, approval, and acceptance from others. Deep down, I know you this too. You're a smart and savvy woman with a yearning for something more. Otherwise, you wouldn't have picked up this book. You know deep down in your heart that there's a more inspiring love filled way to live. You know that it doesn't have to be the same old battle inside yourself day in and day out. I'm here to hold your hand, to show you what's truly possible and guide you back to your truth. There's no BS, no judgement. Just plenty of real life strategies and wisdom. It's all drawn from my own experience adn it's all steeped in heart felt love. If you're ready to let go of the pain, sell your penthouse in fear town, and step into a new way of living, this book is for you. This is not another seven steps to enlightenment book filled with self-help fluff and filler. It's not a glossy guide that simply rehashes the same old stuff you've read time and time again and it's definitely not a quick fix hand book that promises big results but leaves you feeling completely confused as how to actually make it happen. This is a book filled with real wisdom that will get you real results. It's your no BS road map to living your wildest dreams and becoming wildly wealthy, fabulously healthy, and bursting with love."

Sounds absolutely perfect, right? Now imagine this face telling it to you with a beautiful Australian accent.

I've already fallen in love with her and her book and I'm beyond excited to hear the next chapter tomorrow. Chapter one has been about her life story before getting to where she is today. She was a professional dancer, actress, TV presenter, and occasional model. She wasn't following her heart though and because of this, her life spiraled downward to eating disorders, depression, and excessive partying and drinking until she was eventually hospitalized with a severe skin issues. In the hospital, she finally saw that something needed to change and from there she worked on herself everyday. I'm already pumped up for what I'm going to hear about next tomorrow.

5/3/17

🗸 Listened to a chapter of "Mastering Your Mean Girl".

🗸 Jogged.

🗸 Exercised my calves, arms, and glutes.

🗸 Meditated twice for 3 minutes each.

🗸 Was not in the mood for yoga so I stretched.

🗸 Prayed a rosary and read some of the Bible.

Day four:

The memories were loud this morning and throughout most of the day. I found myself listening to old voicemail messages he'd leave me when he was getting back home from a party and I was already asleep. I can't help but wonder if he's thinking about the past too. Why'd I have to mess things up? We were happy just three weeks ago. Damnit. Now I'm crying. Pewwwwww.

I know that when we start talking again, it's going to be different. I'll have to wrap my memories with love and gratitude and then let them go. Maybe we'll make new ones but they won't be the same. I'm telling myself that they'll be better. I'm trying to be optimistic.

I miss the smell of him. The scent is so strong when I'm wrapped in his arms with my nose nuzzled under his chin. Laundry detergent, cinnamon, and honey combs. Plan A: DISTRACTION! isn't working because I have nothing to distract myself. I need an adventure.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

I can't believe I'm actually here two days in a row! I'm so genuinely proud of myself! Thank you, Brown Eyes, for wrecking my life enough to make me change my ways.

I'm feeling let down by Mother Nature. The forecast for the next two weeks is estimated to be cloudy with an average of 60°. Sure, it's not too bad if I compare it to Canada, but I keep comparing it to the always perfect state of South Carolina. Right now, it's 51° in Ohio, 48° in Toronto, and 74° (!!!) in South Carolina. Dangit!

My brain freezes when it's chilly outside; I drag my feet through life, I sleep in, I daydream about warmer weather, and I really just lose all personality and spunk. I'm a snake. I'm a freaking snake. Anyways, as much as I'm wishing that I could be outdoors kayaking, biking, tanning, driving, adventuring, and lounging around the house in a sports bra with a cool glass of water and a giant grin on my face, I can't. As the quote says...

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time

it will take to accomplish it. THE TIME WILL PASS ANYWAY."

~ Earl Nightingale

I have to do this for myself and I can't use an excuse as weak as "The weather's not good enough for me!". God forbid that I'm still the same drab person at the end of these two weeks.

➤ Write a gratitude list in my journal every night before I go to bed.

Positive reflection!

➤ Drink a mug of green tea.

Nutricious and delicious!

➤ Meditate for 3 minutes. Continue to add on a minute after every session.

Soul candy!

➤ Daily exercise of the calves, glutes, and upperbody or whatever my body wants that day.

You know you love the results, Sarah!

➤ Jog as much or as little as I wish. I will listen to my body.

"Run, Forest, Run!"

➤ Do the Yoga Revolution on YouTube, but only stretch if I can't find the time for the video.

Always do it out of love for myself!

➤ Pray a rosary a day.

I'm not alone!

➤ Slowly work up to reading before going to bed instead of checking my phone.

It's okay to pace myself!

This list will most certainly grow.

Day three:

As promised, I will share with you some of the messiness. Maybe one day, I'll let you know the full story behind the boy with the brown eyes, but it's not a very pretty story and I'm not ready to open up about it yet. For now, I'll explain why this break is a good thing. This is my first time "talking" about it so as I type, I'm letting you see a very real part of myself. It's ever so slightly terrifying for me.

He's the male version of myself and, boy, was I wrong that I thought this would be a good thing. He's the male version of myself except unlike me, he expresses it more. Me, on the other hand, I lost myself and forgot that I'm the female version of himself. Making any sense? Let me elaborate...

With every guy (I swear there's not that many), I go through the same phases: I like him, I become addicted to the adrenaline of being around him and wondering what kissing him would be like, I slowly begin to return his sappy feelings, I share his daydreams of our future together, I really like him, I begin to become aware of the threat he has on my "independence", I freak out, I feel that he's a threat to my dreams and my future, I pull away, and I break the whole thing off. Every. Single. Time. When I first discovered Brown Eyes, I was with another boy and with that boy, I was in the "He's threatening my 'independence'" phase so when Brown Eyes stepped into my life, I had already had my guard up. Brown Eyes upset my system and the consequences of this made everything turn into chaos.

He was everything I always was. He'd tell me how much he liked, then pull away when I, a couple months later, began to feel the same way. He'd pull away and then come back when I began to pull away. He'd tell me that he wants to spend more time with me, but then we'd get all caught up in how I don't want a highschool relationship, and a week later I'd find out that he felt the exact same way. It became as complicated, if not more, as it sounds. Shit really hit the fan a little over a month ago. He became more and more of himself/myself and I became more and more of a stranger/my worst nightmare.

I have become my worst nightmare which is why this break apart from each other is a good thing. Somewhere within the last 4 months, I have turned into someone I've never imagined myself becoming. I'd double text him when he didn't respond within a certain amount of time, I always wanted to hangout, I became incredibly insecure, I accused him of flirting with other girls, we had arguments over text and in person, we'd get mad at each other, we'd ignore each other, and ughhhhhhhh!!! I became my worst nightmare, I became needy and clingy. Of course, there is nothing really wrong with these qualities because sometimes a guy likes that and sometimes that's just who the girl is. I, however, am not that girl and being that girl made me feel sick. I showered myself with endless self hatred over it. I felt like a stranger in my own skin and the more I tried to fight her, the more she came out when I was with him.

I have full respect for him in saying that we need a break, that he needs a break. I'm honestly surprised that he lasted as long as he did and I wonder if he'd actually believe me if I told him that we have all the same views on relationships. I know I wouldn't. Not with the way I've been acting.

Anyways, that's my explanation. Not talking to him is already bringing my mind back to its original state. Clingy girl should be gone by the time the two weeks are over, but life is full of surprises so what do I know?